Billy Roy Danger & The Rectifiers

Billy’s voice and songs are long familiar to Junkyard Jane fans, who will NOT be disappointed when they hear this CD, especially if it was the rough edge of his previous collaborations that appealed to you. Billy was the rough edge. This CD has virtually every kind of music for which this frequent visitor from Kentucky is noted. That’s a good thing for first time listeners, as well. There is enough variation in style, theme, and texture on this CD to keep you entertained for a long time, or at least till the end of the CD. Then you can just start it up again.

The album opens with “Get What You Wanted,” a rockin’ blues number with an in-your-face theme, and then winds through a swampabilly"-style “Down in Mississippi.” “My Take on the Blues” is a neatly crafted shuffle with sensible lyrics and a casual feel and features a gem of a guitar solo, so exquisite even Billy couldn’t believe he did it. There are rockers, ballads, rockabilly, and blues on the CD as well. “The One that Got Away” is Billy’s foray into a more pop sound, and it’s a lovely song, with rich harmonies and a catchy chorus. The immediate surprise to me, however, was the absence of Billy’s signature growl. He sings this one with a clear, full voice. I was quite amazed.

Billy (aka Billy Roy Danger) and his guitar are backed up by the Rectifiers, with Tom Sutherland on drums, Alex Featherstone on bass, and Rod Wurtele on Hammond B3 and piano. I particularly enjoyed the boogie woogie piano on “West Virginia.” Nate Thumas provides back-up vocals throughout much of the CD, his voice just behind Billy’s, very subtle most of the time.

Recorded in Louisville Kentucky, the CD definitely has a down-south feel (Billy calls it a raw, hot, twangy thang), but there’s a northwest connection, too. David Malony, of the award-winning Blue Ewe Studios on Whidbey Island, did the mastering on the CD, and longtime friend and colleague, Leanne Trevalyan, also contributed to this solo effort by Billy. You’ll notice she provides harmonies and background vocals on three of the tracks, just as Billy helped out on Leanne’s latest release. She also helped work out the arrangement of “Tears in the Dirt,” a beautiful ballad, with sweet, mournful lyrics. Junkyard Jane fans might remember, “Wet Night,” a favorite from the old days.

There’s a whole lot to like about “Little Devil” - even the spooky “Unstable” grows on you. If you like American music - in all its incarnations - you’ll want to purchase “Little Devil,” by Billy Roy Danger and the Rectifiers, available at CD Baby, on iTunes, and at all of Billy’s shows.

- Jane Henderson
- Southsound Blues Society

I have wanted to do a review of this CD for quite awhile but I couldn’t seem to take it out of the CD player in my car to bring it in long enough to write one…it’s THAT good! For those who don’t know…Billy Roy Danger is our own Billy Stoops from Junkyard Jane. This CD has 11 feel good, raunchy, raw, hot, and twangy songs…mostly originals. It has some upbeat rockin songs like Get What You Wanted, It’s All Me, and West Virginia. It has some slow ballads (and nobody can write a slow song like Billy Stoops) like Tears in the Dirt and it has some fun funky songs like Wet Night, Stone Cold Broke, Get What You Wanted, and Unstable. When I pick up a CD, I usually find a couple songs that I really like, a couple that I kinda like but this CD doesn’t have a bad song on it. You can get it from: http://cdbaby.com/cd/brdrectifiers and I can’t recommend it enough!!!

BadDog…give it the maximum onions! - Review by Patty Keyes
- Walla Walla Blues Society